Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, IDW | Tagged: bible, mafia

IDW to Publish Its Own Superhero, Bible, Mafia & Serial Killer Comics

IDW wants to look more into publishing comic books that are work-for-hire from the creator but that the publisher actually owns themselves.

IDW generally publishes two lines of comic books: those that they have licensed from a property owner, everything from Monster High to Star Trek, Godzilla to Sonic, with the creators working for hire. And then there are the ones that are co-owned by the creators of the comic book, which IDW then publishes, with a variable degree of media exploitation control on the contract. Now it seems that IDW wants to look more into publishing comic books that are work-for-hire from the creator but that the publisher actually owns themselves.

Earlier this week, CEO and Publisher of IDW, Davidi Jonas, took an investment call while driving in which he said that he wants to create greater value in the IP that IDW develops, so they own their own characters and universes like Marvel and DC do. "I believe we have a tremendously talented team of great storytellers, and for us to focus on developing our own wholly owned IP" as a long-term investment that will "create huge value in the underlying portfolio for our shareholders". This will include:

• A new line of superheroes and a superhero universe.
• A retelling of Biblical characters and stories, set in the modern era with a modern storyline but "kind of borrowing from the stories of antiquity". Davidi Jonas believes that they can reach "a whole new audience and bring the talent tent of the comic industry and mesh it with the religious community… which is a large book-buying community." He continued "just seeing the success of religious cinema… a huge element of growth."
• A focus on crime, serial killers, and mafia families.

He says that creating their own original stories in those three genres, all "prime for new publishing material as well as new entertainment material based on our new creative in the publishing business" will be where IDW is headed. But that "those are a bit down the road, I wouldn't say expect those in the next three months, but I'd say, you could start expecting to see some of those titles coming out within the next 12 to 16 months."

There's a lot of IDW news and gossip dropping today, as well as this week and last. Keep up with this handy tag.

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